Tube Time

We have a lot of fun fall traditions at our house, and one of them is TV watching. Autumn is a time for grilling out, watching football, and sitting down during the week to check out a new crop of television shows.

Did anyone watch the Emmys a few days ago? This year’s host was GLEE star Jane Lynch. I didn’t catch all of (it wasn’t as entertaining as I’d hoped… the most interesting part was an awkward appearance by Charlie Sheen) but I was able to get a glimpse of some of the shows I’ve been missing.

THE BIG BANG THEORY, a sitcom starring Jim Parsons.

The big winners this year were MODERN FAMILY, which won four awards including best comedy, and MAD MEN, which continued its four-year winning streak as best drama. If you’ve never watched MODERN FAMILY, it is an up-close look at an all-too-quirky, all-too-human family in Los Angeles, California. If your family isn’t exactly the Cleavers, you might enjoy this show.

And MAD MEN… Well, it has won best drama for four years now, so I’m guessing you’re at least familiar with it. Madison Avenue ad execs and their shenanigans… Lots of beautiful clothes from the 1960s. You get the idea.

Of all the awards given out, I was most excited about the one that went to Jim Parsons, who is from my hometown of Houston. Yay! Parsons won for his role in the sitcom THE BIG BANG THEORY. If you haven’t watched this show, and you have even the teeniest, tiniest nerd gene, then you’re missing out. The show–which features socially inept physicists (insert joke here) living in California– is smart, funny, and original.

What shows are you watching this fall? I’d love to hear about all the ones I’m missing. Toss out a recommendation or a shout out to your favorite sports team.

Anyone who comments will be eligible to win a signed copy of my new book, SNAPPED. Have a great weekend!

Not really looking forward to much except maybe Terra Nova (more for Jason O’Mara than the dinosaurs), but it’s on opposite Dancing with the Stars which I still enjoy, but wish I could fast forward through the filler material.

Haven is a must see but it’s a “summer” show and winding down for this season. Returning shows that are Must Watch(tm) include Castle (preview was intense!) NCIS, Blue Bloods, and Bones. Caught Unforgettable (former detective remembers everything she’s ever seen or heard). Premier was interesting but I’m on the fence. Person of Interest premier was just Big-Brotherish enough to keep me watching for awhile. I made the mistake of watching the rewind of Charlie’s Angels. Uhm…no. It was truly snark worthy.

Anne, I DVR Dancing so I can fast forward and just watch the dancing. Much better that way.

I know there are other shows that I either DVR or watch but those are the biggies for me. Oh, Strike Back on Cinemax. It’s not for the faint of heart–a British black ops team that goes after terrorists on the bad guys’ home ground. And I’m waiting for Game of Thrones to come back on HBO.

Maybe it’s my imagination, but TV seems to be getting better. I’ve DVR’d a few new shows (Person of Interest looks good, but I’m a HUGE J J Abrams fan) and we watched both eps of The X Factor. We’re not much of a sit-coms or dramas family, but the singing competitions seem to get us all in the room together, and that’s what’s important to me at night. I don’t really care what’s on, I just want to cuddle with my daughter and dog and laugh at my husband’s jokes. So, we usually settle on a low common denominator show. Oh, we love cooking shows and have been enjoying Chopped Champions.

I hate when I miss a show and then it gets popular and I don’t want to invest the time to catch up. Never saw a single episode of Buffy or Mad Men or Castle. I fear Revenge will be next. Sigh.

Hi Rocki,
I like that “lowest common denominator” TV watching. In our house, that translates to American Idol.

Sometimes TV feels like a wasteland, but other times it DOES seem to be getting better. I think with so many channels, the niche shows are improving in quality as they don’t have to please such a large audience.

Have to admit I was curious about Ringers because it’s been so long since Sarah Michelle Gellar did t.v. (old Buffy fan here). Also, Prime Suspect, debuted last night. Have you seen the BBC production with her most excellent-ness, Helen Mirren? Well, this is Maria Bello and it’s, shall we say, different. Still the tough woman in the man’s world…we’ll see…

Sad to say, but I can’t give out any recommendations because I hardly ever watch TV. I used to watch Oprah but….we all know her talk show ended. I think I may check out Modern Family. It sounds kind of fun. As for the sports, it is once again torture time for my husband because we live in San Diego and we are Chargers fans. My husband always has such high hopes each season that maybe this will be the season that the Chargers make it to the Superbowl….hasn’t happened in a long time. And as for the Padres…..oh lets not go there.

I don’t have a tv. When we last moved, we decided to leave it behind and then we just didn’t get around to purchasing a replacement. However, life in general keeps us so busy that we found that we didn’t much miss it. We are aware that some shows can be watched on the internet though so perhaps I will have to try to see some of what people are recommending using that.

Criminal Minds is the one I’ve been most excited about because they’ve brought JJ and Prentiss back!!! I’m so glad they’ve listened to the fans and went back on casting changes and the team is back together!

CSI:NY, Castle, Private Practice, THE AMAZING RACE (the one and only reality show I LOVE!!!!! and get obsessed with!) NCIS: Los Angeles, Bones, The Big Bang Theory (Most wtf finale!!!!), NCIS, House, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI:Miami… kind of in that order!!!

CrystalGB up there… I think it’s BLASPHEMY to do a Charlie’s Angels remake. There’ll never be women as beautiful and perfect as Farrah Fawcett, Jacklyn Smith and Kate Jackson (the original ones) in the 70s, with that hair, pants around the waist, carrying a gun and fighting bad guys with virtually no technology. No one should mess with such a classic!

Hi Jill,
I am looking forward to Bones. I started enjoying the show a lot more once I let go of the fact that Temperance Brennan is SO different from the heroine in Kathy Reich’s books. It bugged me for a long time and now I just think of them as completely separate things.

I love the Big Bang Theory. I like to try out lots of the new shows. I am recording Revenge and Ringer so I can try them out. I am enjoying Alphas. I don’t actually watch too much tv so in the next few weeks I will stop watching most of the new shows. So far the only absolutes for this season are Big Bang and How I Met Your Mother (I have a Neil Patrick Harris crush).

I don’t watch a lot of tv other than crime shows (20/20, Dateline, etc) but I am beyond thrilled that Law and Order SVU is back (hooray!) even though one of my favorite characters is gone. I am also really happy to be watching X Factor. I missed Simon on American Idol and am so glad he is back on tv 🙂

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Allison Brennan

Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.